Kudo Kankuro to write the script for NHK 2019 Taiga drama set in the modern era

Kudo Kankuro will be the scriptwriter for the 2019 NHK Taiga drama which will have an Olympics theme in conjunction with the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics the following year. Other than Kudo, the "Ama-chan" crew including chief producer Kurube Kei and chief director Inoue Tsuyoshi will reunite for this Taiga drama. This will be Kudo's second NHK drama and first Taiga to date. As Taiga dramas tend to be set in the historic times such as the Sengoku and Bakumatsu eras which he didn't have any particular interest in, Kudo thought that it would be impossible for him to ever attempt writing a Taiga. However, this time round, as the drama will be set in the modern era with fictitious characters and that there was a Taiga drama i.e. "Inochi" in 1986 which was also set in the modern era, Kudo was then convinced to give this a shot. This drama will consist of 50 episodes.

The story will span about 52 years from the end of the Meiji era (1912) when two Japanese athletes first participated in the Stockholm Olympics but one failed due to phobia of foreigners and the other suffered from sunstroke until the previous Tokyo Olympics in 1964 thus it will involve many characters who were affected by major events like World War II and economic downturns. Kudo called upon the public to be lenient with him since it's not often you will get a Taiga which is set in the modern era and pledged to work hard in writing a good drama.

Sources: Sponichi / Oricon